Bjork - Greatest Hits

Björk's Greatest Hits eschews ducted on her Web site, presenting the tracks in chronological order, making for a jumbled ride through the vocalist's unique, twisted, and frequently brilliant discography. A few welcome surprises surface, including EP remixes, a rarity (the 1993 David Arnold collaboration "Play Dead"), and the previously unreleased "It's in Our Hands," a clever blip-pop number that would have fit nicely on either 1997's Homogenic or 2001's Vespertine. Starting off with a dreamy remix of "All Is Full of Love," the collection contrasts giddy dance-pop like "Hyperballad" (from the wonderful Post) with the brooding thump of "Army of Me" and Debut's "Human Behaviour," while injecting liberal doses of experimental ballads such as "Joga" and "Pagan Poetry." Some choices will grate on the nerves of purists (the sans strings mix of "Hyperballad"), and it would have been nice to hear something from Selmasongs, but with Björk's incredibly consistent discography to work from, it's impossible to screw up a retrospective compilation such as this. --Matthew Cooke